Middle practice with batting pairs

Setup

1. Use a match or practice strip in the middle. Two batters in, the next pair padded up in the shade beside the boundary.
2. Four or five bowlers share the overs; everyone else fields in a sensible match field with a keeper.
3. Each pair bats for a fixed number of overs (e.g. two or three, depending on numbers) and starts on a score of zero.

How it runs

1. Play to the Laws: run outs, LBW, wides and no-balls count. A dismissed batter loses five runs from the pair's total and stays in, so every batter gets the full time.
2. Bowlers rotate every over and keep to their association's workload guidelines for age and spell length.
3. Fielders rotate positions every two overs so everyone fields in the ring and in the deep.
4. After their overs, the pair pad off and join the field; the next pair walks out. Record each pair's runs, wickets and dot balls.
5. Finish with a quick talk: which pair rotated the strike best, and which partnership plan worked?

Coaching points

• Talk between overs: where are the gaps, who is bowling, what is the plan for this over?
• Call every run, run the first one hard and look for the second.
• Turn on the inside of the crease, facing the ball, and slide the bat in to ground it behind the popping crease.
• Build the innings: settle in for a few balls before taking risks, as you would in a match.
• Fielders treat it like a match: walk in, back up throws and talk.

Common mistakes

• Treating middle practice like a slogging session because there's 'nothing at stake'.
• Non-striker ball-watching and missing the chance for two.
• Bowlers over-bowling because the session is long; keep a tally of overs.
• Fielders switching off when the ball isn't coming their way.